JAKARTA: The Indonesian government said on Wednesday that it will weigh up the newly signed treaty on maritime borders between East Timor and Australia, considering the possibility that it may affect its sovereign rights.
The historic treaty was signed on Tuesday at the UN’s headquarters in New York by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Agio Pereira, East Timor’s deputy minister for the delimitation of borders, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Xanana Gusmao, East Timor’s independence hero and its first president, was the chief negotiator.
The treaty was brokered by the conciliation commission established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. The commission will submit the report of its work to the UN secretary-general and it is expected to be made public in April.
Arrmanatha Nasir, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement that the government would examine the details of the signed treaty when the documents, which are still confidential, are made public.
“The Indonesian government reserves all its rights against any outcomes that might potentially affect the sovereign rights of Indonesian under the UNCLOS 1982,” Nasir said.
Nasir added that the Indonesian government has closely observed the conciliation process, which ended a long-standing dispute between the two countries.
Nasir said that Indonesia has sought assurance that the conciliation would not prejudice the maritime rights to which Indonesia is entitled under UNCLOS 1982, and that both East Timor and Australia have affirmed on many occasions.
“The Indonesian government welcomes the use of any peaceful means under the UNCLOS 1982 in settling outstanding maritime delimitation between the two countries,” Nasir said.
The treaty will come into force as a law in each country after the parliaments of East Timor and Australia ratify it.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement on Wednesday that the treaty opens a new chapter in the bilateral relationship as it delivers certainty between the two countries and provides for the joint development and management of the Greater Sunrise gas fields.
“Australia and Timor-Leste have agreed that we will exercise joint rights over the seabed containing the Greater Sunrise field. Seventy or eighty percent of the revenue from developing Greater Sunrise will flow to Timor-Leste, depending on the final development concept to be agreed upon by Timor-Leste and Australia,” Bishop said.
According to East Timor’s Maritime Boundary Office, the permanent maritime boundaries served as “the final step in realizing full sovereign rights” for East Timor as a newly independent state since the seas which surround the island sustain its people and are integral to their culture and livelihoods.
East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a referendum in 1999. It will hold its parliamentary election on May 12 — the second in less than a year — after the government, led by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and his Fretilin party, failed to secure support in the Parliament and were unable to form a coalition with Gusmao’s CNRT party, which won second place in the 2017 elections.
Indonesia cautious about East Timor-Australia maritime treaty
Indonesia cautious about East Timor-Australia maritime treaty
Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall
- The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back
MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Fellow US Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, R-S.C., denounced the assault on Omar.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today” Mace said via the social platform X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
